The words of French chef Raymond Blanc, a man with two such Michelin stars for his Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons and clearly someone with an on-the-money insight into the fine dining game, if new figures for a formerly prestigious, now defunct Dublin eatery are anything to go by.

Kevin Thornton's eponymous eatery closed its doors in October and freshly released accounts show how damaging the loss of that famous star rating exactly was.

According to the Irish Independent, Thornton's at the Fitzwilliam earned operators Conted Ltd profits of just €12,742 last year. This marked a 76% drop on the previous (longer) 16-month period between 2013/14 when it took €53,510. The decline came in the year that the Michelin star was lost.

Thornton himself has said losing the star was akin to being "stabbed in the heart" and has said it was that event that prompted his "very sad" decision to close up. Along with his fellow director and wife, Muriel, Thornton took home €192,883 in 2015, down from €222,541 the year previous.

The acclaimed chef is gearing up to launch a new venture in 2017.

There are currently 12 Michelin star restaurants on the island of Ireland; 10 in the Republic and two in the North. Ireland's only eatery with two Michelin stars remains Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud in Dublin's Merrion Hotel.